Twitter announces new profile pages, iPad app

In an appearance Tuesday on TODAY, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo revealed a new look for Twitter's profile pages. The fresh take won't just be seen on twitter.com, either, but will be visible on mobile apps as well, including Twitter's all-new, totally rebuilt iPad app.

What's the biggest change? There's now a huge header image that runs across the top, sort of like the banner image that Facebook users have on their timelines. The page itself has been reoriented to play up other visuals as well: Your avatar is no longer tucked in the corner, but will display front and center. The photo stream, too, has been moved up, and will now be accessible on the apps.

Here are "before" and "after" looks at the TODAY Twitter page:

Twitter / TODAY /

The old TODAY Twitter profile page, with the avatar to the far left, and a not-so-obvious photo stream.

The rollout of the new profile pages has already begun, so you should be able to opt-in now by going to your Twitter page. Eventually, all users will have to switch over to the new look. That won't be enforced immediately, however, but it could potentially take place in the coming months.

That new iPad app

The folks at Twitter are especially excited about the new iPad app, because now you'll be able to "view photos in fullscreen and swipe through them really easily," said the company in a statement to TODAY.

The iPad app isn't just a cosmetic upgrade either: "We've rebuilt it from scratch," said Twitter. The goal was to provide an experience similar to that of the increasingly feature-rich twitter.com, and of the Android and iPhone apps.

"When you tap tweets in the iPad app, they expand in your stream to show a photo or video or article summaries from major websites," said Twitter. "For example, videos from TODAY website appear right within tweets, and people can view them in the tweet, in fullscreen or on the TODAY website."